death cap

American  

[deth kap] / ˈdɛθ ˌkæp /

noun

1. a deadly poisonous mushroom of the genus Amanita, especially A. phalloides, with a distinctive membranous cup around the base of the stalk. Death caps resemble a number of edible mushrooms and are responsible for more deaths than any other species of mushroom.

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death cap British  

noun

1. a poisonous woodland saprotrophic basidiomycetous fungus, Amanita phalloides, differing from the edible mushroom ( Agaricus ) only in its white gills (pinkish-brown in Agaricus ) and the presence of a volva See also amanita

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Etymology

Origin of death cap

First recorded in 1900–05

Example Sentences

In extreme cases, a person who ate death cap mushrooms can go into catastrophic liver failure and need a liver transplant.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 10, 2025

The death cap mushroom is responsible for over 90% of mushroom-related deaths in the world, according to iNaturalist.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 10, 2025

A death cap mushroom will be growing out of the ground near an oak or other hardwood tree, Diaz said.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 10, 2025

However, detectives had discovered death cap mushrooms had been seen in two towns close to Morwell, where Patterson lived, before the meal.

From BBC • Jul. 7, 2025

Akin to the preparation of one’s coffin, and storing it in one’s domicil, for years perhaps, is the preparation of one’s shroud, and death cap, and all the et cætera of laying out.

From Dealings with the Dead, Volume I (of 2) by School, A Sexton of the Old